Video on demand (VoD), audio on demand and other streaming data transfer applications are emerging technologies for home entertainment service businesses. For example, a VoD service permits a customer to request a video in real-time from a large collection of videos stored on a server located in a remote facility. Video transfer can be provided over a network system, such as a telephone system or a cable network, for example. A sufficient amount of bandwidth must be available however to continuously transfer the data from a storage system to the customer's equipment. The amount of bandwidth between a video server and the customer's equipment ultimately determines the maximum number of simultaneous video streams the server can support at any given time.
One key communication transmission technology that is enabling transformation of existing public information networks to accommodate higher bandwidth needs is Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), a modem technology. ADSL converts existing twisted-pair telephone lines into access paths for multimedia and high-speed data communications. ADSL rates expand existing access capacity by a factor of, say, 50 or more without new cable installations.
ADSL technology involves modems attached across twisted pair copper wiring in which higher transmission rates can be achieved. When content is received in a home, a termination device is needed to terminate these different protocols. Streaming data, for example video, is separated out to be used by a subscriber. Streaming data is transferred directly to the device, which uses the streaming data. The prior art does not address home networks or networking streaming data to more than one unit a given time.
Therefore a need exists, a receiver architecture that permits an end terminal device to be decoupled from an access network device to provide greater flexibility for implementing a home network. A further need exists for a system for a controllable user interface to permit the decompression of streaming data at the customer access device to permit access to multiple devices in a network.